Legendary war photographer Robert Capa was once quoted as saying: “If your shots are no good then you aren’t close enough.”

The Hungarian could never have been accused of keeping his distance in the interests of safety. As a young man, he took the most famous picture of the Spanish Civil War, “The Falling Soldier”, showing the moment when a bullet smashed into the head of a Republican militiaman.

The photograph sparked a debate over its authenticity until the soldier was identified and medical evidence proved the picture did indeed portray his death.

This iconic image and others are reproduced in Glass Warriors: The Camera at War, an account of the last 150 years of global conflict as seen through the eyes of the journalists and photographers who have risked their lives to capture the ferocity of fighting.

The book, written by Dr Duncan Anderson, head of the Department of War Studies at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, traces the history of photojournalism from its origins in the Crimean War, and includes biographies of the men and women who went to war armed with only their cameras and shaped public opinion with their work.

The author succeeds in telling the stories that lie behind the pictures, as well as giving a comprehensive overview of all the major battles of the last century and a half. If you are interested in photography and military history, then you’ll enjoy this.

Glass Warriors: The Camera at War is published by Collins (ISBN 0007200307), price £7.99.